Little Nests

Jessa was home these last few days for spring break.  We decided to make a little spring treat to celebrate.  I found this fun recipe in Essential Mormon Celebrations by Julie Badger Jensen. 

I love this cookbook - it's one of my favorites. 

 Little Nests

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1 cup All-Bran or Fiber One cereal

1 small package mini robin eggs (Whoppers)

In a small saucepan , melt butter or margarine over low heat.  Add miniature marshmallows.  Stir until marshmallows are just melted. 

 Remove from heat (umm..we didn't do that, but it still worked).  Add cereal and stir just until coated.

 When cool enough to handle, form into eight little nests.  Place on waxed paper.

 After about 1 hour, press in center of each nest to form indention(We just put the eggs in right away).  Place three robing eggs in center of each nest. (Our eggs were too big to fit three).

Makes 8 nests. 

These were fun and tasted good.  Ha ha ha but now I have a box of All Bran...anyone know any other good recipes with All Bran?  I think these would be fun to make with chocolate rice krispies too - they wouldn't look as realistic - but then you would have a box of chocolate rice krispies leftover instead of All Bran. :)  I think I have a muffin recipe that calls for All Bran...I'll have to look for that.  

Chocolate-Strawberry-Banana-Pops

Cooking in the kitchen today we have Chef Elsie and Chef Caleb. 

They will be demonstrating how to create

Chocolate Strawberry Banana Pops. 

If you would like to make your own pops, you will need:

More or Less:

1 banana

8 strawberries

2 cups vanilla yogurt

2 cups chocolate ice cream

a blender

Popsicle molds

Wash your strawberries, cut off the tops.  Add to the blender.  Make sure you have a grown-up helping. :)

 Peel your banana.

 Add your banana and yogurt to the blender.

 Add the ice cream - yum!!!

 Blend!

 Pour into your Popsicle molds...add your sticks.

 Place your pops in the freezer.

 Do a crazy dance while you wait for the pops to freeze...

 2 to 3 hours later...wha la!  Delicious Chocolate Strawberry Banana Pop!  If you have a hard time getting your pop out of the mold, run it under hot water for a few seconds.  This will help it to slip right out!

Sweet treat for a happy face!

Frozen Peas and Three Delicious Reads

 Awe how cute.  Elsie with messy hair and her shoes on the wrong feet.  Definitely my child.  :)

The other night at dinner we had peas, and Elsie would not eat hers.  She sat at her plate, picking up each pea and placing it in a pile.  With each pea she said "I don't want you, and I don't want you..." So funny.

But yesterday when I was making dinner,  I gave her a cup of frozen peas.  She loved em'.  Just look at these pictures of her chowing down on healthy peas.  Whatever it takes, right?

Speaking of children and food...here are three of our favorite children's books about the subject:

Lily at the Table

by Linda Heller

Published in 1979, I remember looking at this book as a child.   Lily at the Table is a wordless picture book.  Lily is stuck at the table, and she has to finish all her food. Lily begins to daydream she is a small person and looking at her food with new eyes.  A bowl of cheerios becomes a fishing pond, a birthday cake candle becomes a twisty slide, and cookies become clown shoes.  Imaginative and fun, my kids love looking at this book when we go to Grandma's house!

Pinkalicious

by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

  If you haven't read this book to your children yet, consider checking it out at your local library.  This little girl eats too many pink cupcakes and turns pink!  Find out what she must do to change back into a regular little girl again.  :)  We've read this book at least 100 times and it's still a delight.

Little Pea 

 Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace

You will never look at peas the same again!  This little pea must eat his dinner before he can get dessert.  What would a pea despise and detest on his dinner plate? Read and find out! :)

The 6:36 Jar

           My dear friend Caroline brought me this sweet jar tonight.  She had the brilliant idea of creating a "6:36 Jar."  At 6:36, everyone drops what they are doing; and picks a paper from the jar.  On the paper is a fun activity and a few simple requirements to participate.  Of course, a smile is always a requirement!  Other requirements may be to brush your teeth or clean up toys etc.  And then the fun begins!  Some of Caroline's activities include: dancing to the radio, reading a book, playing Go Fish, Mother May I, Red Light - Green Light, or playing Pig. 

            Do you have days when you rush around doing laundry, cleaning, carpooling, cooking etc. - and then you realize you forgot to enjoy your kids?  The beauty of this little jar is that it reminds you to stop and enjoy your little ones.  On the jar Caroline put this beautiful quote:

"In all the important decisions in our lives,

what is most important is to do the right thing. 

Second and only slightly behind the first,

 is to do the right thing at the right time."

I am quickly realizing that my children won't be children for long!  So now is the time to play, laugh and tickle.  At 6:36, I am going to ignore the dishes and party!  Thanks Caroline! :)

Better than Play Doh!

My kids love playing with play doh - it can seriously entertain them for hours. And while I love to see all the ages happily creating together - the mess drives me nuts. It's like a trade-off: 2 hours of the kids being busy with no TV, but tiny play doh pieces all over the floor, stuck on socks, and tracked onto the carpet.

While at our Border's closing out clearance sale, I saw this box of Bendable Sticks. I love stuff that keeps my kids busy and away from the TV; but also activities that aren't high maintance for mom. These sticks totally meet those requirements. They are bendable (ha ha I know you were wondering!) and a little sticky - and the kids can make pictures, or build three dimensional objects. These would be really cool for preschoolers to use to make letters and shapes with, or for a home schooler to use while learning about geometry. But mostly they are just awesome to play with. Check it out - my 2 year old, 5 year old, and 7 year old playing together. And no one is crying or bleeding!

These sticks are reusable, you can just store them in a zip lock bag! My sister's little girl plays with Wiki Stix, they are pretty much the same thing. Here's to happy busy kids! :)